ANKLEBITERS
by randomle26
Summary: [REQUEST FROM xxthebluejayxx; ROBRAE HINTS] What if after being turned down by the Justice League in her plead for help, Raven became a member of the Team?


**AN: This is a prompt request from xxthebluejayxx. I hope it's up to expectations since I'm a little rusty. **

**Please ignore any errors that bother you when you see them.**

**Also, this takes place around Season 1 of Young Justice.**

**Title Inspiration: ANKLEBITERS by Paramore**

* * *

_Try to remember how it felt__  
__To just make up your own steps__  
__And let anklebiters__  
__Chew up, spit out someone else._

_Fall in love with yourself._

_Because someday you're gonna be__  
__The only one you've got.__  
__Someday you're gonna be__  
__The only one you've got._

* * *

Anyone in the mere presence of the famous caped crusader would've fainted from utter delight. It would take forever to get off that everlasting high that the great Batman is currently breathing the same air- it's not like he randomly stopped breathing the same air, it's just you were never sure until just now. Batman probably wouldn't appreciate his shoes getting drenched in your fan-tears though.

It was probably a good thing Raven didn't cry, nor did she enter "fangirl" moments. Or show any emotion at all.

"Are you nervous?" asked the equally stoic Batman.

Raven barely shook her head. She appreciated his attempt to make normal conversation with her, but considering how abnormal she was, she didn't consider it necessary.

"This might give me some time not to think about…" she trailed her voice, feeling the rest of the sentence redundant considering how all-knowing the "greatest detective" is.

He simply nodded a response, "I'm rather impressed that you decided to come to the Justice League," (1) he said, almost complimentary. If Robin heard, he'd never hear the end of it.

"I didn't know who else to turn to," Raven said. _The monks of Azarath could only help so much_, she silently added in her brain. Personally, she would've liked if the Justice League were a little more helpful- not just slightly brushing her off and telling her that she should join their covert operations team ("the team for sidekicks", Green Arrow called it).

The pair stood silently in front of a large, futuristic cave, the Zeta-Beam ready for the surprise entrance. Raven was starting to regret not just teleporting herself to Happy Harbor.

"I'll introduce you to the Team. Once you hear the authorization code, walk in," Batman instructed, "Don't worry, they don't know anything about your history." There was a silent "yet" in his tone.

The caped crusader turned toward the tube. _"Batman. 02."_ Only taking a few steps, Batman disappeared through the tube.

Raven slowly removed the hood from her head, staring uncharacteristically anxious at the tube. Was she ready? Was it a good idea for the League to allow an attachment to the Justice League's future generation?

Raven didn't have enough time to answer her rhetorical questions because the tube started to circle and glow in yellow light. If she was planning to turn back, it was way too late. Pulling her blue hood over her face, she carefully stepped into the odd transportation system.

The empath closed her eyes, repeating her mantra in her head and calm her heart beats. She was nervous for control as always- not for the upcoming judgment from sidekicks. She slowly opened her eyes, remembering to take a step forward. She looked up and saw 8 people standing, waiting for her appearance.

One was a redheaded tall teenager, clad in a yellow and red uniform. It was quite obvious he was the Flash's younger sidekick (the lightning bolt on his chest was a giveaway).

One was a blonde in a green uniform. Again, the emblem on her chest made it quite obvious whose sidekick she was.

There was a green-skinned girl floating next to a black-haired boy with a superhero t-shirt and an Atlantean with blonde hair. Near the Atlantean was a black-haired girl in a magician's costume and a girl in a blue uniform with a slightly used brown jacket.

Finally, the Boy Wonder clad in red, yellow, and black (not the traffic light colors she originally heard about) was standing at the end, near his mentor.

"Team. This is Raven," Batman said, "She'll be you're new teammate."

"Another freshman?" (2) The boy with the Superman t-shirt asked, with obvious disdain in his tone. Raven had to resist the urge to roll her eyes.

Batman said, "Yes. I _expect_ you to treat her nicely." Batman didn't say that for the sake of Raven's safety- merely for the team's safety. She personally told him that her powers were controlled by her emotions. If they provoked anything, an outlet would be catastrophic.

Deciding there was nothing to say, since argument was nearly silent, Batman walked away towards the Tube and headed back to the BatCave.

Underneath her cloak, Raven nervously rubbed the long-sleeved arms of her leotard.

The yellow-red speedster whisked over to Raven. "Hey cutie," he greeted in a singsong voice. "Kid Flash. Nice to meet you. You can call me Wally."

Raven hid the fact that her nails were digging deeply into her palm. The jealously projecting off the green-dressed blonde was amplifying and annoying.

"Raven," she clarified in monotone.

Wally's eyes widened, "Whoa. How do you talk like that?"

"Like what?" she said in her usually tone.

He eyed her funny before shaking his head, "Never mind." He turned to his team, "This is Artemis, Miss Martian, Superboy, Aqualad, Zatanna, Rocket, and Robin." He introduced him basically in the way Raven saw them.

She didn't bother with a "nice to meet you" or a "I'm excited to be here"; she just kept quiet and nodded politely.

"Who's you're mentor?" Miss Martian hesitantly asked.

"Red Arrow," Raven said. He wasn't really her mentor, the League just told her to answer that when asked (they were friends so it didn't make much of a difference).

Artemis snorted, "Seriously? Roy got a sidekick?"

Aqualad sent her a look before saying, "Welcome to the Team Raven."

Again, the empath just nodded and continued to rub her own body underneath her blue cloak.

"Would you like a tour or something?" Rocket suggested. She shared a small look with Superboy, who glared. He was always the first one who had to give tours to newbies.

"No thank you," Raven said, "Is there a room I can rest in?"

Aqualad hesitated slightly before saying, "Yes. Are you tired?"

She said, "Not exactly. I just… I need to meditate."

"You can do it here," Miss Martian welcomed politely.

"I'd prefer to be alone," Raven said, blunt as ever. Only Robin smirked at the strange girl's complete honesty.

Aqualad walked up to her and said, "I'll be happy to show you a room." The two walked off in mere silence.

"And I thought Batman was quiet," Kid Flash said the minute Raven was out of hearing.

"What's her deal?" asked Rocket.

Robin defended, "She's probably just anxious. It's like she's the new kid at school. It's going to take some time for her to get comfortable. You guys know what it's like being new to the team." He shot some looks at Artemis, Zatanna, and Rocket- reminding them how everyone cut them slack.

"Something about her," Zatanna said, "It just… it doesn't feel right."

"Will have time to get to know her," Robin reasoned, "We should be fair and give her time before we make any snap judgments."

Obviously there was nothing left to say towards Robin's reasoning. As everyone was about to leave, Robin, Kid Flash, and Artemis decided to stay.

"So why are you so defensive with _Raven_?" Kid Flash teased his best friend.

Robin shrugged- feigning casualty, "Just being nice." Robin decided to leave. He didn't want his friend to come up with ridiculous theories about Robin's personal feelings.

He walked into the hallway. He didn't find out that Aqualad stashed her in the room next to Zatanna until he heard her chanting.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath-"

The chanting suddenly stopped. Robin walked closer towards the door, until it automatically slide open.

Raven had her hood off, allowing Robin to stare (behind his mask) at her purple eyes, and he was so focused on her eyes that he barely noticed the red stone on her forehead.

"May I help you, Robin?"

He raised his eyebrows behind his mask, "How'd you know it was me?"

She explained, "I'm an empath. You're curiosity was… projected harshly."

"Sorry," he said.

She shook her head, "It's nothing to apologize for. It take me awhile to _adapt_ to the new emotions around me."

"So, you're an empath? Is that it?" he pried lightly, absorbing Batman's detective skills though the atmosphere.

"No," she said.

"What else can you do?"

Raven hesitated slightly before saying, "It's a little difficult to explain."

It was a good thing Robin could take Raven's subtle hint of discomfort. He smiled politely at her and said, "If you ever need someone to _explain_ to, feel free to find me."

She didn't smile. She simply muttered, "Thank you," before allowing the door to close in his face.

Even though he barely got any emotion out of her, he felt as if he had accomplished something.

He knew that feeling would soon past- Batman picked the wrong time to give a new mission. Robin hoped Raven had the chance to mediate enough.

Every team member, including Raven- well she was an official team member now, was surrounding Batman and Red Arrow. Out of the corner of his eye, Robin could see Red Arrow and Raven chatting. She wasn't smiling, but she looked less tense.

Everyone halted to see what the great Batman had to say.

"Dr. Asai has been captured here in this abandoned CADMUS facility," Batman pointed. Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Superboy remembered the last time they were in a Cadmus lab. Batman continued, "We need you to get him out."

"How do you expect us to get him out?" Artemis asked bluntly, "The area is covered in guards and radars."

Oddly enough, Batman and Red Arrow just looked over at the quietly hidden Raven as if she had all the answers.

"Think you can handle it, Rae?" Red Arrow asked, smirking slightly.

Raven scrunched her nose slightly at the nickname and said, "It shouldn't be too hard."

Batman said, "Then get ready for your first mission, Raven."

* * *

Everyone took their usual seats on the Bio-Ship. Just as Miss Martian was about to offer a seat for Raven, the dark girl began levitating herself behind Robin's seat, closing her eyes in meditation.

"So what exactly do they want _her_ to do?" Superboy asked out loud.

"They want me to give you a way to get in without leaving a trace on the walls or the roof," Raven answered, even though she knew that wasn't really directed at her. It was rather impressive how she still managed to keep her eyes shut.

"How are you planning to do that?" Zatanna asked curiously, "Do you have magic?"

Robin shot them looks to stop snooping and to cut her some slack. He wished his teammates would be a little more welcoming to their newest member. Oblivious to him, Raven wasn't completely bothered by the nosiness.

"I can teleport," she answered simply.

"Whoa! That's cool," Kid Flash complimented before Artemis punched him in the shoulder.

"We're here," Miss Martian announced, "What's the game plan?"

Aqualad said, "Raven can teleport us from the roof. Then we'll have to sneak our way in to where the doctor is."

"There can be an easier way," Raven suggested, making an unorthodox approach at questioning the leader's methods.

Aqualad didn't seem to bothered though. He made a gesture and allowed Raven to further explain.

"Give me one minute, maybe two," she turned to Miss Martian, "Hide the Bio-Ship somewhere in the clouds so it looks less dubious." Without giving anyone a chance to argue, Raven stood still on the floor, allowing a black circle to eat her up.

"What the heck?" Rocket commented, "She's not the leader."

"No. But this is an opportunity to see what Raven is truly capable of," Aqualad said as Robin was staring out the Bio-Ship window. He couldn't help but watch the empath circle the building. It was mesmerizing watching her transform herself into a black raven.

"He's in the fourth room on the fifth level," Raven informed suddenly, appearing out of nowhere, "Two guards are around his room. One is scheduled to leave to get him food."

Artemis asked with awe in her tone, "How'd you do that?"

The question was ignored. "I suggest three of us head to his room, take care of the guards. But there should be one member guarding the security computers on room six of the seventh floor and two member guarding the security room."

The Atlantean didn't seem jealous at Raven's sudden leadership skills, but rather impressed. "And the remaining?" he asked.

Raven said in monotone, "Keep them here on the bio-ship. It's good to have a back-ups, but not in a place where they could easily get caught."

"Alright," agreed Aqualad, "I want Robin, Raven, and Artemis to go to get Dr. Asai. Kid Flash, Superboy, and I will go guard the security room while the rest of the Team will stay on the Bio-Ship in case of a distress call."

"Shouldn't Robin be the one in the security room?" Zatanna asked, "He's the one who can hack."

"I can do it from my own," Robin offered. In all honesty, he was the only one comfortable around Raven and felt that he should be the one to help her and look after her.

"Good. Get going," said Aqualad.

Without waiting, Raven grabbed Artemis and Robin's hands, enveloping them in a black bubble and disappearing off the ship.

* * *

Artemis shivered, "That was really creepy." She nearly screamed when she realized she was floating in thin air with Robin and Raven. Robin was too busy on the computer built into his glove while Raven was focusing on entering the actual building.

As Raven had half her mind on levitating her two teammates, her black-covered hand began twisting, her powers unlocking the window from the inside. She used both her hands to push the window up without force. She formed a black "slide" for Robin and Artemis to get into the room.

"So that's what your other powers are?" Robin asked when he landed. But Raven just kept silent, focusing on the room.

"Dr. Asai, we're here to rescue you?" Artemis said the elder man on the bed.

"Eh?" he responded, replying in a foreign language.

Raven seemed to be the only one who understood because she began speaking in the same language as him. She must've said something comforting because he began to tense less and smile at her.

Dr. Asai began talking to Raven, a look of worry on his face. Without hesitation, the empath turned, using her powers to close the window. "What are you doing?" Artemis whisper-hissed at her, "That's our exit!"

"No it's not. If they find out the window's open, they're going to go after his family," she said.

"Then how do you expect us to save him?" Artemis asked.

Raven paused. Robin couldn't help but see inner conflict in her posture. "We need to make ourselves noticeable."

"Robin, that's suicide!"

"We can get the guards working here for interrogation. That way, it'll buy us some time to find a way to protect his family," Robin said.

Artemis huffed in defeat, knowing that there was no getting through to the stubborn birds. Before she could respond, the door flung open and two guards waltzed in.

They didn't get time to yell at the Team because Raven captured them in a black claw and flung them rather hard against the wall- not enough to crack skulls, but enough to enter unconsciousness.

Artemis used a rope to tie the two guards up. "How are we expected to carry _all_ of the guards here?"

"There's only four within the building," Raven informed, "Four that I know of." She encased the knocked-out guards into a black bubble and hung it over her head.

"We can't worry too much about the outside ones," Robin said, "We'll have to make our peace with what we have."

Without further argument, the three, plus the doctor, began making their way towards the exit, adding more guards to their collection in Raven' s bubble. It wasn't until they met up with Superboy.

"How do we get out now?" Artemis asked.

Raven huffed. She slowly encircled her team in her magic and cried, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

Zatanna, Rocket, and Miss Martian had been monitoring the building and were shaken when a black bird suddenly appeared in their ship. After Aqualad, Superboy, Artemis, Kid Flash, Robin, Dr. Asai, and some other guards flowed out of the bird, Raven appeared with her arms spread flat and her cloak flailing. She landed gently and pulled her hood off her face.

"Nice work Raven," Miss Martian complimented, "And you didn't kill anybody."

Raven didn't answer, instead she re-bubbled the guards and held them against the wall of the Bio-Ship.

"Miss Martian, head over to the Hall of Justice," Aqualad instructed, "Let them know we have Dr. Asai and a few others good for questioning."

As the other members took their seat, doing their own business, Robin walked over to Raven who was monitoring the guards and preventing them from waking.

"You did good on your first mission," he said.

"It was a little too easy," she replied.

He huffed, "I know it's going to take a while for you to break down those walls, but-"

"Thank you… for supporting me," Raven interrupted. Robin just stared blankly at her oddly outspoken gratitude. She turned to him and continued, "I know that the Team is struggling to welcome me, but you haven't. I've never… I've never had someone do that for me. So thank you."

Robin couldn't help but smile. He felt some sense of pride from getting her to say thank you and from learning that he was her first friend. "I'll be there for you. That's what teammates and friends are for."

"Friends?" she repeated confused.

Robin grabbed her pale hand, brining it to his lips, "Friends."

The Boy Wonder accidentally pulled Raven closer to him when he felt the ship make an uncharacteristic hitch, bumping into nothing. He stared down at Raven's blank face, ignoring the other members odd looks at the random malfunction.

Raven roughly pushed Robin away. She pulled her hood over her face again, disappointment to Robin, and said, "We're not friends. Because… if you knew what I really am, you wouldn't want me around."

Robin thoughtfully put his hand on her shoulder, "I know enough." (3)

* * *

**How was it?**

**(1) This is the whole comic persona- how Raven went to the Justice League for help but they rejected her. The only difference from this is that they don't completely reject her.**

**(2) That was a request in the prompt.**

**(3) Who remembers that?**

**Please Read and Review!**


End file.
